Rural round-up

”Band-aid solutions” might be needed to avoid potential problems in the red meat sector next season, but a long-term view is essential to finding the right solutions, Meat Industry Excellence chairman Richard Young says.

More farmers have gathered to establish a mandate for industry change and further meetings are scheduled in the North Island.

At a recent meeting in Feilding, attended by about 700 farmers, Alliance Group chairman Owen Poole said the industry was developing an improved model and and a decision on whether it would go ahead could be expected within two months, Farmers Weekly reported. . .

For more than 20 years I have worked professionally on the “what ifs” of climate change, focused mostly on what it might mean for agriculture. I’ve done this work in New Zealand, Europe, the Pacific Islands and Asia. During that time I have experienced the progression from the hypothetical to real-world responses. Climate change, particularly as experienced through more frequent drought and flood events, is increasingly influencing what farmers are doing in many countries. It is not clear whether this is yet the case in New Zealand, but I suspect so.

With a record summer drought just behind us, and with negative and positive effects that will continue to unfold for farmers, it is relevant to ask: What if we get more frequent and intense droughts in the future? How might farming change and how might those changes affect wider society? . . .

The 11 finalists competing for the 2013 New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year title are split between contract milkers and farm managers – as well as age, experience, and farm size.

Judging begins next week for the finalists comprising four males and seven couples, and involves a two-hour farm visit covering financial planning, human resource and farm management. The final component of the judging, an interview, will take place in Wellington prior to the winners being announced at the 2013 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards on May 24.

Winners in the 2013 New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year will also be announced and nearly $150,000 in prizes will be given away. . .

Fonterra is piloting a new ‘Guaranteed Milk Price’ (GMP) scheme that will provide farmers with the opportunity to have more certainty in their milk price. The pilot will mean farmers can choose to lock in a milk price announced at the beginning of a season for up to 75 per cent of their milk supply.

Fonterra’s Managing Director of Group Optimisation and Supply Chain, Ian Palliser says the past few years have confirmed that volatility in commodity prices is here to stay.

“We recognise that every farming business is different. And while most farmers can live with the market volatility, there are times when some farmers would prefer more certainty as it would help them manage their own farming businesses,” Mr Palliser says. . .

Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited today confirmed that a Supply Offer enabling farmer shareholders to sell the economic rights of some of their shares will open on 2 May and close at 5pm on 23 May.

Farmer shareholders will have the opportunity to offer to sell the economic rights of up to 25 per cent of their minimum required shares (‘Wet Shares’) to the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund.

The price farmers will receive for their economic rights (the “final price”) will be announced on 16 May. It will be calculated by reference to the average daily sales prices on the NZX for Fonterra Units for each trading day between 2 – 15 May inclusive.

Farmer shareholders will then have a further week after the final price has been announced to confirm if they wish to participate in the Supply Offer before it closes. . .